Author: Manoj Ranaweera

Few weeks ago, David Terrar and I got excited by the news of Sage eyeing Norwegian Visma, who we thought had a SaaS model. But now it emegered that Hg Capital may have beaten Sage in acquiring Visma. I see participation of private equity in accounts/ERP/EIPP as a positive step, given that ebdex is also seeking private equity funding. It is worth analysing the portfolio of Hg Capital to understand the threat they pose to Sage, in putting a barrier to increasing Sage’s dominance. Some of technology investments include: Addison Software – German Accountancy and business software software. Burns e-Commerce…

I think this is my 13th blog. So thought of finding out who reads my blogs. So far only Dennis Howlett and David Terrar have mentioned my blogging activities on their blogs. Thanks guys. Is there a way to track who reads my blogs? Much appreciated for any help anyone can give. I am still learning “blogging” Update 1 (17/05/06): To my amazement, this blog has now ranked at 733,456 on Technorati. Some achievement, given I only started blogging last month

I just came across this article: Deutsche Bank and CSC launch electronic corporate invoicing service. Should we be scared! Hell no!! This confirms that market is ready for such innovative solutions. Analysing the story….the solution seems to be aimed at Euro Top 1000. It is right for these two companies Deutsche Bankand Computer Sciences Corporation) to join forces together, as one complements the other. Deutsche Bank would never be able to operate an EIPP system alone without a technology specialists, who has experience of integrating complex ERP systems. The solution is internet based, which is a positive. I presume it…

I recently came across Zoli Erdos through Dennis Howlett’s blog. Zoli writes extensively about entrepreneurship and early-stage funding. Couple of interesting articles I found from his site include: Why Startups Shouldn’t Bother About NDA’s – This article took me to Dharmesh Shah‘s blog. Another guy who has done it and can proudly wear the T-shirt. Just dropped an introductory e-mail to Dharmesh. Need to identify synergies between the two businesses. With regards to NDAs, I still demand signing a NDA before going into lengthy discussion about ebdex. However, this does not always work with VCs, as they generally refuse signing…

I have tried to find other bloggers blogging on my favourite subject, i.e. EIPP and e-invoicing. If you do come across any, please let me know. I found this article from Rich Miller’s blog dated 02 July 2003 why old tech is beating new in B2B bill payment. Surely, there must be others out there in the wilderness telling stories about EIPP! Update 1: 30 April 06: I came across an article on ebdex on outserve.biz Blog. Key theme “The move to a near paperless office and more importantly the avoidance of data entry of information that is held elsewhere…

I recently had the pleasure to visit Version One, which provides document management, imaging, electronic fax, email and forms software. I have been meaning to visit them for over a year, as they are located in Poynton, few miles from where I live. What is noticeable is that Version One has been recognised as one of the fastest growing companies in the EMEA by Deloitte. In fact they have won many awards than one can remember. Interesting point to note is that Version One has achieved significant success rate with its reseller network. What is the optimum route to market…

Since setting up of ebdex on 25 Nov 04, I fell ill (flu bug – not a common cold) seriously resulting in out of action for whole of last week. I have been trying to assess the impact this had on ebdex, as I am that individual who keeps the ship sailing in the right direction. We are at a critical juncture where Mark and I are steering the company to eventual product launch in Q2 06. Loosing couple of days can be devastating to a company in our predicament, i.e. product testing.

EIPP market can be split into four segments, these being: supplier-centric (sending invoices electronically from A/R systems), buyer-centric (receiving invoices electronically into A/P systems), enterprise-centric(sending and receiving invoices electronically from/into A/R and A/P systems – a customised solution usually based on ERP solution) and exchanges. The first three types generally cater for one party, usually the dominant player to the cost of its trading partners. They also provide partial solutions, which limits benefits that could be gained by parties involved in a transaction. The enterprise (and DIY) solutions are costly due to underlying ERP solutions and high consultancy fees usually…

Do you use an e-invoicing solution? Is your solution simply based on sending an invoice via e-mail? Have you thought of what happens when this e-mail or e-mail attachment is received by the recipient? Unless the same system format is used by both the sending party and the receiving party, the invoice information cannot be easily interpreted by the receiving party’s accounting/ERP system. This results in recieving party having to re-key invoice data manually into the A/P system, duplication of effort leads to potential re-keying errors and delays. This method whilst may include buzz words like “e-invoicing” has no clear…

It is worth understanding what EIPP (or e-invoicing) means if you are thinking of stream-lining your Accounts Payable (A/P) and/or Accounts Receivable (A/R)function(s). Unfortunately, Wikipedia does not have a definition or information on EIPP or e-invoicing yet. Google search defines EIPP as follows: Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP). EIPP refers to the invoicing and payment process between businesses, or B2B applications, over the Internet and typically via a third-party EIPP vendor. See EIPP under Technology in the Main Topics section. EIPPis an American term now used in UK and stands for Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment. Its definition includes…